


How to (not) kill a Songbird

by yuesita



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), F/M, Falling In Love, No Beta No Edit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuesita/pseuds/yuesita
Summary: Felix is sent on a mission to assassinate the sole heir to Baron Dominic. The problem is, he (literally) falls for her.I was Sarita's Secret Santa at the Felannie Secret Santa 2019!
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	How to (not) kill a Songbird

**Author's Note:**

> It was longer than expected lol. I struggled since english isn't my first language, but I'm practicing for my upcoming exam an I also love Felannie. Happy Holidays to those who celebrate, and for those who don't have a great day!

“No”

“But Felix- “

“The answer is no. As I have told you the last three times Sylvain.”

Sylvain sighed. He looked at his friend, who was cleaning his sword with a neutral expression on his face. Sitting in the corner of the training grounds alone at night, their words echoed, and the steely tone that Felix used made an eerie sort of sound.

Sylvain decided to sit right next to him and grabbed his face with his hands, starting to get desperate. Sorry, starting? He was already desperate. He was asking Felix for Sothis’s sake.

“Look Felix. As I told you before, nobody else can do it. Dimitri obviously can’t, he needs to be here with the troops. Dedue won’t leave his side, no matter what. They need long-range soldiers for the next mission, so naturally Ashe and Ingrid are out of question. So that leaves you, the professor and me. I ride a freaking horse and I’m a redhead, not exactly stealthy- “

“The professor was a mercenary.” Pointed out Felix while he brusquely interrupted.

“Yes. And she broke _both_ her legs last week.”

“Both are currently being healed by Manuela and Linhardt **”**

“Still. She won’t be in a good enough condition to complete a mission like this Felix.”

“What about Caspar?” Sylvain raised his head from his hand just to glare at his friend. He shrugged. “He’s so _loud_! Be serious Felix!”

“I am serious.” muttered Felix under his breath. “Look, there are several spies that could do this. Why choose me?” Sylvain frowned and suddenly turned very serious. In Felix’s experience, this was not a good sign.

“We need someone we can trust. Someone we know won’t betray us to Cornelia, to the Empire…” Sylvain paused and looked sort of distant. After a moment he got up and turned around to meet Felix’s eyes.

“We need someone that we know can be stealthy and loyal if not to the Kingdom, at least to us, and help us defeat our enemies by assassinating the sole heir to one of Cornelia’s biggest allies: the beloved niece of Baron Dominic.”

Felix looked around the room with a frown.

Sneaking inside the Dominic’s castle was not difficult, especially if you kept in mind that Felix grew up in the Fraldarius’s state and frequently played in the Royal Palace, places that had much higher security and were far bigger. He also has been given specific directions as where to find the niece’s- _Annette’s? Her name didn’t matter-_ bedroom, and here he was. But there was one problem: the room was empty.

It wasn’t just that the girl wasn’t there, Felix could just wait hidden somewhere. It was the room in itself: the closet was missing at least half of its clothes, and some dresses where carelessly thrown on the bed, some on the floor; there were some books that were obviously missing in the small bookshelf, someone had opened the drawers and had grabbed something in a rush, leaving all the clothes inside in disarray.

Felix was no detective but the idea that the owner of that room had run away had seemed the obvious conclusion. A knock on the door pulled Felix out of his thought and immediately drew his hand to the hilt of his sword.

“Annette? It’s me…Can we talk? Please...” Felix waited with kept breath and got close to the window for a quick escape. “I know you hate the idea of an arranged marriage, but it will help us with Cornelia, dear. And helping us with her, helps me protects you and your mother.” The man on the other side on the door sighed. “Please Annette, I know it’s not the best choice, but I just want to protect you…”

If Felix had been another man, perhaps he would have felt pity for him. He was trying, after all, to do what he could to protect his family. But wasn’t Felix doing the same? If that meant killing this niece of his then so be it.

_It seems she ran away because of this arranged marriage_ , he though as he blended in dark and avoided guards. _I’ll find her_.

Finding Annette Dominic wasn’t easy. Thankfully, he was several hours ahead of the Dominic soldiers, since he found out that she escaped way earlier than them. Felix looked in nearby towns and casually looked around. He only knew so much of the girl: that she was a red-head, short, where her room was, what the Dominic’s crest looked like and that she was the niece and sole heir to the Baron.

This whole situation had Felix very frustrated. He didn’t want to come in the first place, he belonged in the battlefield after all, this type of delicate and patient work was more fit for someone like Byleth or Ingrid, maybe even Ashe, but not him. It was supposed to be easy, but the girl ran away. Felix understood why: the idea of an arranged marriage was utterly ridiculous, but right now he didn’t care. He wanted to get back to the army, where his blade and himself belonged.

He decided to go to the local church. Not to pray, since he wasn’t a pious man, but because he knew he could gather some information there, and he could also take a break from walking around town, and no one would bother him if he pretended to be deep in prayer with his head bowed.

The local church was not very big, but there was a lot of room for sitting, and it was fairly empty. That called his attention: in war time, people tended to attend the church more frequently. He entered the building nonetheless.

“Mass just ended sir. Can I help you with something?” Felix turned around to see a pair of blue eyes. The voice belonged to a very cute girl, kind of short and red haired. For a moment, Felix thought that her voice sounded just _lovely_. He immediately shooed those thoughts away.

“I just came to pray.” He answered hoarsely.

“Oh! Then, please come in! You’re very welcome to stay and pray. If you need me, the priestess and I shall be over there” She pointed somewhere in the end of the room, where there was a small door, an office he guessed, and then left.

Felix had, of course, carefully observed every short red-haired girl he encountered, and this was no different. While pretending to approach the modest figures of the saints to pray like the few people who were left in the church did, Felix blended in the shadows and followed her. The room she had entered was closed and he couldn’t hear a thing, so he picked the lock just so he could open it slightly so that he could listen.

“…not so sure Mercie.” Felix recognized the voice of the girl he just had spoken to.

“I know it’s not the best option Annie, but it’s not safe here either. Just lay low there for a couple of weeks until I can wrap things up here, then I’ll come get you.”

“But if…” There where sounds in the back of the church due to some woman who was wailing in pain for her lost son. Felix had trouble hearing the rest of the conversation, but he recognized the cue to leave. He hid behind a pillar and saw the girl and the priestess leaving. The priestess had called her Annie, very close to Annette, she matched the description, and she needed to hide. Felix wasn’t certain that it was her, but he decided to follow her.

Felix was absolutely certain that it was her.

The next day she left at dawn with a bag on her shoulder and wearing a very dark cape. She kept her head down and tried not to call attention, but she kept getting distracted and tripping over the tinniest of thing and yelling “Owieee!!”, took her time to stop and pet stray cats and picked flowers. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t find that cute. He had to kill her after all.

On her way over to wherever she was going some bandits tried to mug her. She easily defeated them with some wind spells. Felix was impressed by her ease as a mage, he thought that she seemed quite powerful. That was something to keep in mind for the future, but not the most important detail. He saw the crest of Dominic. Now he was sure.

To follow her, Felix had stayed in the woods by the road, silently observing her. In case someone found him, he had a simple dagger with him, a dead rabbit strapped at his belt and a bow, to pretend that he was out hunting. And now, now that he was certain that it was her, he felt uneasy. If he killed her would help the Kingdom army, and therefore would help keeping the people he loved safe, like Sylvain and Ingrid. He had killed countless people before, why not her? And it wasn’t like she was a normal civilian. She clearly knew how to fight, after all she fended off those bandits like it was nothing, she was barely worried. Honestly, it was kind of hot.

_Focus Felix, focus_ , he thought angrily.

While his thoughts kept him busy, Annette had seemed to arrive at her destination. It was a small house in the middle of the woods, next to a river. She happily hopped to it. _It’s now or never_ , he thought, _she’s distracted_. _I should make this quick._

Felix raised his bow and pointed it at Annette’s heart. He frowned, the angle wasn’t quite right, he wouldn’t hit her. He looked around and saw a tall tree and decided to climb it. While he climbed, he decided which of the branches would be best for a good sniper position, but then he heard something that made him freeze.

Annette had started to sing. The lyrics where very silly and adorable, something or other about home and flowers and whatnot, but her voice, her voice was absolutely _divine_. Felix turned his head to look at her. The sun shone on her beautiful red hair, and it look like it was lit. Her eyes were closed in concentration. He thought that if the goddess was actually real then she must look like her, or at least sound like her. How could someone’s voice be so…so…captivating? His heart was beating so fast. That wasn’t normal.

He was so caught in his daze that he slightly loosened his grip on the tree and fell. Then, everything turned dark.

Felix woke up with the sun in his eyes. He felt terrible, his body aching everywhere, specially his back and his right leg. He tried to get up, but it just made him feel dizzy, so he laid back again. Where was he? What had happened? He mildly remembered the tree and the singing, slipping in and out of consciousness through the night, a warm hand on his cheek, but nothing more.

He looked around. He was laying on a couch on what it looked like a small cabin. The sun that was bothering poured from a window on his left, and right next to it was a door that he guessed led to a bedroom. On the other side there was another couch and a small kitchen.

“ _Picking up the herbs, la la la… For my poor patient la la la…”_ He heard a sweet voice in the distance. Annette Dominic burst through the main door with energy and a basket full of herbs on her hands. She paused when she saw him. “Oh, thank the Goddess, you are awake! I was so worried!” She happily bounced to his side. Felix was shocked into silence.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“…fine” He answered. He wasn’t sure how he managed to speak in her presence, but otherwise his voice sounded awful. She noticed.

“You don’t sound very good! I don’t know if you remember, but you were climbing a tree, I’m sure looking for a squirrel or something.” Annette giggled. “And you fell. Thankfully, I happen to live nearby, and I heard you. You had a lot of nasty bruises and you broke your leg. I…am not very good with white magic,” Annette then did a small little frown with her nose, and could she get any cuter? This was so unfair. “but I think I took care of the worst of it. I brought some herbs to help and of course, I’ll use some more white magic If you’d like. Oh! And I can recommend someone if you think…”

Annette kept rambling about Felix’s wounds. Felix tried to pay attention, but it was pretty hard. The pain was not unbearable, but it was there, as was Annette and her red hair and blue eyes, and the terrible thought that loomed over Felix’s head: should I kill her?

“…but enough about that, I just realized, I haven’t introduced myself! My name’s Annette. What’s yours?”

“…Felix.”

“Well, Felix. As I said before, I’ll finish applying this on your leg and you can be on your way back.” On his way _back_? But he hadn’t made a decision yet. Maybe he could just tell everyone she was dead and fake it. But what if it, somehow, backfired, and hurt them? He thought the chances were slim and that the mission was not that important, but he also remembered Glenn saying something of the sort about Duscur, and there wasn’t even a body to _bury_. And he also, selfishly, wanted to stay and listen to that angelic voice for a little while longer. He didn’t understand _why_ , but at least he knew he wanted that. He needed to buy time, and a reason to stay.

“You’ve been very kind to me Annette.” Felix looked at her straight into her eyes. Annette winced, surprised. He hadn’t said more than two words since he woke up, and it surprised her a bit. “I’m very grateful. I was hunting in the woods when I fell, and you took your time to nurse a stranger. Is there any way I could repay you?”

“No, no, there’s no need!” Annette blushed profusely. “I didn’t do it expecting retribution. I just…Did you hear that noise?” Annette turned around to look at the window, and Felix followed her example. She was right: in the distance, some strong noises could be heard. Honestly, they sounded a bit like…

“I think they’re horses!” Annette stood up abruptly, looking pale and with urgency.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Yes! No! I mean…maybe?” She started to look around the house nervously. “Look, don’t worry. I’ll guarantee your safety, I’m actually a very good…!” The sounds of the hooves came closer. “ _Ack_!”

“Look Annette. I know I’m not in the best condition. But I can fight as well. Where is my sword?” Felix started to get up from the couch with some difficulty.

“No, Felix, you shouldn’t get involved!”

“I said I owed you, didn’t I?” He grunted.

“But this is so dangerous…!” This girl had no idea, really. The sound of the approaching horses stopped, and the soldiers started getting off them. Felix noticed his sword and bow resting next to some books, and he went to grabbed them. Someone violently opened the door.

“Annette Fantine Dominic! I have come here to…! _Oh_ …” A tall, blond man entered the room. He was wearing a very fancy armor that Felix didn’t think would be very suitable for war.

“I thought that you ran away because you didn’t like the idea of marrying so fast, not because you had a… _shabby_ lover.” He said with contempt in his voice. Felix rolled his eyes. “I don’t mind if you had a previous lover, but you most leave him behind now in order to properly join our families.”

“Ludwig...I’m not going to marry you. Not now, not ever.” Said Annette. Her face was serious, and her voice was almost deadly. He noticed that she slightly changed her stance. Right, she was a mage.

“Of course you are going to marry me Annette!” Ludwig laughed. “You are a noblewoman from a noble house that has no choice but to bow to Cornelia. Your father abandoned you and has been serving the deranged prince, never looking back. Your family has no other choice and…” He smugly took some steps towards her. “You’re a woman with a minor crest. Your only use is to bear children. So, yes, you’ll marry me. So, come along, ” he took the same steps back and cheerfully clapped. “let’s get back!”

A cold, icy silence filled the room. Annette started breathing slowly, in and out, as in trying to control herself, but her cheeks, tinted with red, betrayed her.

“As I said before.” Started Felix, slowly. “I owe you a favor. Say the word, and they’ll be all out of your hair.”

The young noble and his small company of soldiers laughed.

“As if a hobo like you could handle us! Why, when I was young…” While he rambled on, Felix looked Annette into her eyes. After some seconds, she slowly nodded.

“Wow, you’re really good.”

Felix was finishing wiping the blood off his sword. He expected her to freak out after killing them, but she seemed okay.

“You know Felix. I’ve been thinking…Do you think you could here for a little while longer” Felix froze. What? “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it in that way! Although what way would that way be, that’s so confusing, it just came out so wrong, and I’m rambling again...” Annette blushed and coughed a little to hide her embarrassment. “What I meant to say is…I think I might need some protection for a while.” She said while looking at the floor and playing with her hair. She couldn’t meet his eyes.

“I thought you said you could protect me?” He asked, smirking a bit. Annette frowned.

“What? That’s not what I said at all! Don’t be mean!” She pouted. “I said I could guarantee your safety!”

“Isn’t it the same thing?”

“No! Look, it doesn’t matter. The thing is…my uncle. He wants to arrange me a marriage, and I don’t want that.”

“Obviously” He replied.

“The thing is, he might send more suitors or more of his soldiers to retrieve me. I don’t know if they know that I’m here or not, and honestly, I’d rather not harm anyone at all. But I’m only going to stay here for a short time until I leave. I know I can handle myself just fine, but I could use an extra hand. If you can spare it, of course!” She quickly added. Felix pretended to consider it.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just leave this place?”

“Yes, but a friend of mine told me to stay here and lay low until she could come finish some business so we could leave somewhere that it’s much, much safer.” He finished cleaning his sword, got up, and approached the small river behind him to wash his hands. When he returned, Annette was watching him, expectantly.

“I accept.”

Life with Annette was easier than he expected. Felix was not very sociable, and she made him very nervous, which in Felix translated in being more serious, silent and rude. But it was impossible to be so with Annette, who loved doing chores and working hard, and she made them while chatting amicably and smiling. They had a lot of interest in common and he didn’t mind doing chores either, so their relationship was smooth and easy, and there was never an awkward moment. In the morning they both trained together, they swept the floors, they cooked (though it was mostly Felix since Annette was _terrible_ ), they fished, they picked herbs. Annette tended to the plants and Felix hunted. Annette read books before going to bed at night and Felix took care of his weapons.

But the moments he liked the most were when Annette thought she was alone and started singing to herself. He would spy on her as gently as possible, since the one time he was founded out she freaked out, and she also thought that he was making fun of her when he complimented her singing, and didn’t speak to him for a whole day.

Life with her was beyond good. But Felix still had a mission, and that hadn’t changed. Every day, it got harder, and she gave him more reasons not to do it, and he would make more excuses for himself as to why he wasn’t doing it. At least he wasn’t worried that the Kingdom Army was going to start asking for him: assassinations took some time, since locating the target was not easy, and Felix was not an assassin and well, war was in the middle, and they didn’t have soldiers to spare. Which was the reason why he was here.

While Felix was thinking for how long until the Kingdom army started getting worried, Annette called him.

“Felix, Felix! Come closer!” That woman could have asked him pretty much anything and he would have done it. So, he did.

“What is it?” Annette was carrying two buckets filled with water.

“I was going to do some laundry. Do you mind helping me?” Felix sat down and started to wash while they chatted. Too bad he was going to miss the laundry song.

“Say Felix…”

“Yes.”

“Remember a few weeks ago when I told you that I had a friend who told me to stay here until she finished some business so we could go together to somewhere safer?” He froze. Was his happy little bubble going to burst so soon? Was he going to kill her? Impossible, he couldn’t. He could fake her death though. Where was this “safer place”? He could say he could go as their bodyguard and escort them there and then go back to the army. But was this place really safe for _her_? Was he never going to see her again? Was she going to found out that he was there to kill her? Was she going to hate him? Did that mean that he was never going to hear her lovely singing ever again? Was this what people called _freaking out_?

“…I do.”

“Well, there’s a festival in town, and I thought it would be fun to visit her to catch up on our plans and go to the festival! And since you’re with me…” Annette raised her eyes from the laundry to look at him and he noticed that she was blushing, but honestly, she always was. “…I’ll be safe! So, what do you think? We’ll have fun!”

Felix hated festivals, and people.

“Sure, let’s go”

Felix hated festivals, and people.

Mercedes, Annette’s friend (the priestess), noticed as well.

“You don’t seem so comfortable Felix.” She said with her annoyingly sweet voice. “But I think I know a place where you will.”

An hour later, Felix understood why people liked her so much. She took him to a side of the festival where there were games where people had to use their strength and dexterity in order to win. Not only was Felix too skillful for all those silly games, but also Annette was loudly cheering for him, and the result of both those things was that he won an absurd amount of tickets which they traded for food, mostly for the two women who seemed overly excited over the idea of festival food. Felix was delighted to learn that Annette had a cake song.

The afternoon had started all too-well. Mercedes had immediately told them that she needed more time, so good news for Felix. Then, the games, the cheering, the foods and the songs. Felix was only mildly irritated.

Then the dance started.

Some musician started playing and people made their way into the main plaza and they all danced together. Annette shyly asked him to dance with her and he gently rejected her. He would hate to embarrass himself in front of her, so he just told her that he didn’t know how to dance. At his explanation, Annette was outraged, and told him that “the first thing they would do tomorrow would be to take some basic dance lessons together!”. After that, she quickly blended with the crowd.

She and Mercedes danced with men and women, young and old, with joy on their faces. Felix observed them, vigilant, from a corner, but mostly he watched Annette. For a clumsy girl, she moved with grace, her fiery red hair dancing like her feet in the wind…

As the last dance was nearing to an end, a very young boy, no older than ten, started dancing with her. He was tiny and scrawny, and they laughed while they struggled to follow the steps. When the dance finished, he bowed, grabbed her hand, gallantly kissed it and yelled “Farewell, oh Fair Maiden!” Annette laughed loudly, almost in tears.

Felix, unreasonably so, was jealous of a ten-year-old who was _playing_.

“Felix, wake up! Dance lessons, remember?”

Annette poked him excitedly in the cheek. Felix groaned.

“Is this really necessary? I hate dancing…” And he hated the little bastard who kissed her hand. Who was also a child.

Annette ignored him and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She was bouncing on her feet and she started humming while she cooked, so he thought that it was alright.

“Why is this so important to you?” He asked as he sat on the table. He grabbed some toast. Ohhh, there were almost burnt; thankfully, the next day was his turn to cook.

“Because dancing is so wonderful Felix! You move your body to the beat of the music. It’s very similar to fighting.” She added, with a sly smile on her face.

“No.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun! I remember when I was a child, and Father and I danced, and he would say that I…!” Annette suddenly stopped. Felix put his teacup down. He never asked, but he remember what the stuck-up noble had said about Annette’s family. She remained silent.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Annette didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. They continued to eat their breakfast. Felix respected, and almost craved, silence, but not from Annette. Not only he _adored_ her voice, but not hearing it meant something was not going well.

After they finished eating and doing the dishes, Felix turned around to meet her eyes, only to find her deep in melancholy, looking anywhere but him, lost in space.

“So. Dance lessons?” Annette jumped a little.

“Oh! Oh. Right, right! Of course. Let’s go outside.”

Felix would’ve done anything to distract Annette from her misery, but this was distracting him. While she slowly regained her cheerfulness as she guided him through the steps, Felix wasn’t sure how he kept his composure being so close to her, holding her hand, her waist, twirling her, smelling her…

He was such a creep.

But Annette seemed happy and kept complementing him, especially on his footwork. She only got mad when he suggested she sang something so they would have some music to dance to “You are making fun of me again, aren’t you Felix! You’re really evil!”.

The truth was that Felix already knew how to dance. Most dances he knew were fancy ones though, not very popular, since he was supposed to learn proper etiquette due to him being a noble. He only hesitated before, at the festival, because he hated it and because she made him nervous. But as soon as he got over it, although in the case of his nerves, he only got them only somewhat under control, Annette and he were smoothly dancing in the backyard of the cabin. She was giggling, and Felix was almost smiling.

“See! I told you! You did it!” Annette cheered. She was breathing hard because of the exercise, but she looked delighted, her cheeks tinted pink. And Felix, encouraged by her joy, and goddess know what else, took her hand and slightly kissed it.

What followed was utter confusion.

As soon as his lips left her hand and he saw her impossible red face, did Felix realize what he had done. Annette opened and closed her mouth looking like a crimson fish, her hand slightly shaking, and still being held in Felix’s.

_This was not the reaction she had when the kid kissed her,_ he thought. Yes… it was a kid. But still. She also didn’t react that way with the noble. He was awful though, and it was an arranged marriage. Maybe she would react this way if any decent young man were to kiss her hand after dancing?

But Felix knew the answer. There were some young men and women that danced with her on that day on the festival. Some were even flirty. She never reacted that way with them. But she always blushed when he got way too close. The had so much fun together…

Maybe he was wrong. If he was, he would take a step back, and never bother her again. But there was only one way to find out.

Annette was still trying to form a coherent sentence when Felix pulled her for a kiss.

What followed were the happiest days in Felix’s life since Glenn’s death. Their routine continued as usual, but with small changes: when Felix cooked, Annette would hug him from behind, and sometimes would try to kiss him in his neck by standing on her tiptoes, while shyly singing the cooking song; they would cuddle at night while Annette read some of her magic books and they finally fought when Felix confessed he listened to all of her songs and he wasn’t lying when he said he liked them, nor teasing.

They also kissed, and hugged, and touched, and a lot of human interaction that honestly, Felix was not used to. How did Sylvain did it? And with several women too. But even when at first, he felt so inexperienced, like grabbing a sword for the very first time, he quickly adapted. He was very eager after all.

They also opened up about themselves a lot. Annette finally told him what had happened with her father, and he also told him about Glenn. But there was an elephant in the room. His mission. Now more than ever, he knew that he was not going to kill Annette. They had a conversation that had also sealed what he could do about it with the Kingdom army, where Annette told him that Mercedes and she where actually planning to join the Kingdom army because they were against Cornelia. There was no way that the boar was going to reject them. He was also sure that there was some strategic advantage blah blah, but he never cared to listen to those.

But how was he supposed to tell Annette? He had already promised her that they would go together with Mercedes to join Dimitri as soon as she was done with her business -whatever that was- but there was an obvious problem there. Everyone would recognize him, they would ask about her and about the mission, etc.

Felix’s priority was to get her to safety. He didn’t want her to hate him, not now that he knew how her lips tasted or how warm it felt when he sleeps next to her. But how was he supposed to tell her? And at the end, if she did and she was safe, it was a small price to pay.

Should he tell her now? But what if she got mad and ran away? And he couldn’t protect her and something bad happened? Both Mercedes and Annette were very strong, but there was also strength in numbers.

So, his options were: lie to her and let her find out when they got there. She would feel betrayed and she would hate him, and he would lose the love of his life, but at least he would be sure she got there safely. Or, tell her now, make her feel mad, betrayed, and then she leaves without him. Higher chances of getting hurt. He loses the love of his life.

In moments like this he really missed Sylvain and Ingrid: they would know what to do. He was terrible at planning.

While considering his dreadful future, Felix laid on the couch. He heard a small noise: Annette’s feet. He affectionately rolled his eyes; she was always trying to sneak up on him.

“GOTCHA!” She yelled while jumping on his stomach. Since he already knew, he waited for her with his arm opened, and as soon as she fell, he closed them and caught her. “Oh, not fair Felix! You heard me?!”

“You’re not very quiet.” He said, while nuzzling her neck. Annette giggled.

“Maybe next time then!” They stayed in the couch for a while, cuddling and kissing and doing nothing. It was blissful, but he couldn’t forget his current problem. What was he going to do?

“Felix, honey? Is something wrong? You look…grumpier than usual?” Felix frowned.

“No, don’t worry.” She nodded. Her fingers caressed his cheeks and got lost in his hair. Felix closed his eyes, happy.

“Because, you know you can trust me…I know that’s something’s been bothering you for the last couple of days.” Felix opened his eyes. “And, I just want to help you, you know? Share the burden or something?” Annette did her cute little pout. He wondered if she knew how hard it was to say no to that face.

Felix grabbed her and made them both sit on the couch. He took a deep breath while one of his hands pushed his hair back. Maybe he should tell her…

“Wait! Please, don’t leave, don’t be mad!” Felix turned around to see a panicked-looking Annette. She desperately grabbed his arm. “You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable!”

“Annette, I’m not mad, and I’m not leaving. Also,” He gently pried her hands from his arms. “I think we should talk about this.” This seem to make Annette even more anxious. To calm her down, Felix gave her a slight peck on her lips and gently pulled her into his arms. When her head rested on his chest, and he started stroking her hair, she finally calmed down.

“Before I tell you anything, there’s something I want you to know.” Felix lightly pushed her chin up so they could see each other eye to eye. “…I love you Annie.” They both blushed. Felix felt it spread through his neck and his chest. He felt ridiculous, but he knew he would regret not saying it. “I have never been in love with anyone before, and this past few weeks have been…beyond amazing. I have never been happier. I feel like I’m your…your captive…Goddess, this is impossible.” Annette laughed, although she was blushing hard as well.

“I’m sensing a but here.” She frowned. “Are you not coming with me to join the Kingdom army?”

“I am, yes. But…You might not want me there…with you” He couldn’t meet her eyes. He felt so guilty.

“Why not Felix? Your presence not only is very welcome by the both of us, especially me, but you’re a very skilled swordsman, you’ll be a great addition to the army!”

“Annette, that’s the problem, I’m already part of the army.” Annette looked at him, confused. “My name is Felix Hugo Fraldarius.”

Annette immediately stood up from the couch. She started pacing, looking shocked.

“You’re the next Duke of Fraldarius?! The Shield of Fhaergus?! I’ve been making out with the next Duke of _Fraldarius_?! This is _insane._ ”

“Annette: that’s not the point. And, _who cares_?”

“Wait, wait, wait. Then, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be on the front lines?” Felix grunted. “Oh for the Goddess, are you working for _Cornelia_?!”

“No! Please, Annette, let me talk.” Annette put a finger on her mouth, gesturing silence. “I was sent here on a mission to weaken Cornelia’s allies. I was meant to hurt your uncle…by hurting you.” She looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes, opened wide, with small tears kissing their eyelashes. “I wasn’t in the woods by chance. I wasn’t hunting. I came here… to kill you.”

Annette slowly blinked the tears away. She stayed silent for the longest seconds in his life, and her expression finally morphed, seemingly unperturbed.

“But you didn’t.”

“I just hope you can forgive…excuse me?

“You didn’t kill me Felix” She said while she shrugged. “You’ve been staying here with me, alone in the woods. You protected me from my crazy ex-fiancé. You had plenty of chances of killing me, and you didn’t. So, what’s your point?” Felix was speechless.

“I…I mean… my mission…” He stumbled with his words. This wasn’t like him, what was with this unexpected reaction? She also looked very calm all of a sudden.

“They gave you a mission to kill me because my uncle was allied to Cornelia and I was his only heir, was that it?” He clumsily nodded. “Well, you didn’t carry out your mission, and you had plenty of chances to do it. And I know you don’t lack the skill. By the way, were the injuries a way of getting close to me? They seemed pretty real.”

Felix hid his face in his hands with embarrassment, how was he going to explain that to her? At least she wasn’t mad. Guessing that it was something funny, Annette started laughing.

“Did you actually _fell_ from that tree? I thought I was the clumsy one!”

“It was your fault! Your songs distracted me!” Annette kept laughing louder and louder, even when her lovely cheeks got redder and redder. Felix felt happy, and relieved, but also a bit stupid. It was a very strange sensation, and he thought, that must be what love felt like. _Goddess_ , that was so corny. To silence her laughter and to hide his shame, he stood up from the couch and pulled her in so he could kiss her. While he did, he could still hear he giggles, ringing in his ears in the most pleasant way.

“You know, I’ve got something to confess as well” She said, after some time had passed. They had gone back to cuddling on the couch. Felix felt a million pounds lighter and now that he could actually envision a future with Annette, started thinking on how to strike entire battalions that belonged to either Cornelia or the Empire so that the war could finally end, and Annette and him could settle down peacefully. In the meantime, Annette had tried to compose a song that was about her “killer boyfriend”. She thought it was hilarious, Felix not so much.

“What is it?”

“You weren’t the only one with other intentions when we met you know.” He raised his eyebrows.

“Oh?”

“Well…after you fell…I nursed you back to health. You were just so handsome! And when you fought Ludwig you were so cool. I just wanted an excuse to get to know you. So, I asked you to be my bodyguard. Not that I needed one” She snorted. “I can protect myself just fine.”

“So, what you’re saying is…you asked a total stranger to stay with you, alone, in the middle of nowhere, because you wanted to meet him because you thought that he was _hot_? What a weirdo.”

“Felix!” Annette complained furiously while he laughed. “You tried to kill me! Also, you stalked me while I sang!”

“Well …” Felix bent his face down to meet hers. He kissed her for a long time, until she forgot why they were arguing. “It’s a good thing I’m a weirdo as well.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed.


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